The Eyre Peninsula South Australia

Days 324 to 351

Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay was our first stop in our journey along the Eyre Peninsula.
The park we stayed at was right on the water with the view from our van spectacular.
We drove around the 3 scenic drives in the area and were rewarded with fantastic scenery.

Sea stacks in the ocean at Highcliffs, surfers on a wave at Granites, cliffs and beaches in abundance along the coastline,
sea lions (the world’s rarest) and fur seals at Cape Labatt,

as well as Murphy’s Haystacks (ancient wind-torn inselbergs) were only some of the delights in the area.

Our next stop was Venus Bay a little further south. Whilst it is renown for excellent fish we had no luck while we were there. But what another beautiful place! We did the South Head Walking Trail and saw a large pod of dolphins fishing at the entrance. Did I mention the spectacular coastal scenery that was everywhere we looked?!
Sheena did a coastal drive to Talia Beach via ‘The Woolshed’, a large cavern carved into a granite cliff by wave action and ‘The Tub’, a large crater with a tunnel connection to the sea. Also …. guess what? More magnificent coastal cliffs!

The next drive (from Venus Bay to Elliston) was a quick one.

On the way we stopped at Colton Bakery to buy some bread rolls. This is a self-serve shop with an honest pay system! The wood-fired bread was delicious.

At Elliston we drove the two cliff top scenic loops. The outlying islands were very clear and we even saw a surfer at Black Fellows Beach.

The goat track surfers used to get from the cliff top down to the beach was unbelievable! We both decided Sheena’s brother would definitely have surfed this spot if he was here.

Locks Well beach is about 20km from Elliston. It is one of the most reliable locations to catch Australian salmon in SA so off we went. To get to the beach you need to traverse a 283 step staircase. We went to the lookout first (great views of the rugged coastline and surf pounding the beach).

We watched the lone fisherman for a while and he was having no luck and the tide was coming in quickly. No fishing for us, but …. Sheena did the trip down the staircase and along the beach.

Coffin Bay was our next stop.

We went for a fish soon after we arrived. Things were going well – Peter had caught a flathead and Sheena a salmon trout that were both keepers – and then Sheena put her rod down to help Peter with a tangle and the next thing it was disappearing into the bay!! We think being towed by a large ray.
Coffin Bay National Park is another great location to visit on the Eyre Peninsular. Again, spectacular scenery abounded.

On the eastern side of the peninsular at the southern end is Port Lincoln.

We did an Oyster and Seafood Tasting Tour at Port Lincoln ‘the fresh fish place’. It was well worth it. We learned about the local fishing industry, saw how the catch was received, packed and stored. We tasted a couple of Coffin Bay oysters as well as the in-house smoked and/or pickled fish, mussels, squid and scallops. Yummy.

We had lunch at the tavern at the marina. What a great location! We watched the boats come in as we savored a glass of local wine.

We had one very eventful day whilst at Port Lincoln. It was hot and the wind was strong. We went for a bit of a drive around town and ended up at the local lookout. When Sheena got out of the car she almost lost hold of the door, the wind was so strong! There was a spectacular 360 degree view of the area. We looked out on Lincoln National Park, Boston Island (a fully operational sheep station that is 5km off the coast), and when we looked around behind us we could see the hectares upon hectares of farmed land. In the distance we noticed a fire and realised that with the heat and extremely strong winds that it would be very difficult to control. Boy were we correct! It spread quickly and that afternoon smoke spread over the town. We received one of the emergency texts we had heard had been introduced. The local schools were closed for the remainder of the day and many of the local shops closed to enable people to get their kids and go home.
The fire was brought under control that night but not without lots of land devastated and some very close calls.

We visited 2 wineries with Lois and Eric.
Boston Bay winery looks over Boston Bay. A fantastic outlook of tuna ponds, Boston Island and the stunning waters of Boston Bay.
To add to this – the wines we tasted were great! The 2nd winery is in the foothills of Port Lincoln. Delacolline Estate Wines has an alfresco cellar door. We indulged in their wines and a tasting platter for lunch. What a great way to spend a day!

Our highlight in Port Lincoln was Shark Cage Diving. What a great day we had!
We left the marina at 7am and travelled 2.5 hours south to Neptune Island to an area where the seals play. The boat captain said the area was like a Maccas Drive Thru for the Great White Sharks!!!! Needless to say we had 5 of these creatures grace us with their presence for the day. Whilst Peter and I were in the cage we had a 5m + White Pointer circling the cage. What a magnificent creature!

We also tried our hand at squidding for the first time off the jetty near the caravan park. Peter caught one first cast! And it was very tasty in the Creamy Garlic Seafood dish that Peter cooked a couple of days later.

Did I mention the local wildlife!
Emus were abundant around Coffin Bay and Port Lincoln National Parks.

Our next stop was Arno Bay. We did a snapper charter out of Arno Bay Caravan Park.
It was Day 1 of the season and there were 50+ boats all positioned around a wreck about 26nm offshore (it looked like Pitt Street)! Snapper were caught thick and fast after the 12 midday start. A 6.07kg snapper was caught by Peter in the initial rush. When Sheena got a rod things had slowed down and she did not get a fish BUT a great day was had by all on the boat.

Nullarbor Links Golf Course

Playing the Nullarbor Links Golf Course was number 1 on Sheena’s bucket list.

This is the world’s longest golf course spanning 1365km from Kalgoorlie to Ceduna.
Sheena loved playing it whilst Peter grumbled when we played in the rain or couldn’t see where our ball went! Every golfer should experience this course!!!!!

Here is a hole by hole description of our game.

The first two holes are at Kalgoorlie GC when playing from the west to the east.
What a course!! An oasis in the middle of the desert!
Hole 1 (C Y O’Connor): Par 4. Sheena 5. Peter 4

Hole 2 (Golden Mile): Par 5. Sheena 5 Peter 6

Hole 3 (Silver Lake): Par 4. Sheena and Peter 6.
This hole is at Kambalda GC. Sand green. Dirt fairway. We had to wait for 2 local women to tee off before we played! It was drizzly.

The next 2 holes are at Norseman GC. We played in the rain!!! Peter was quite ticked off! Greens were synthetic AND coloured green.
Hole 4 (Ngadju): Par 4. Sheena and Peter 6

Hole 5 (Golden Horse): Par 4. Sheena and Peter 5

Hole 6 (Sheep’s Back): Par 3. Sheena and Peter 4
This hole is at Fraser Range Station. Green here was also synthetic and green in colour (as were almost all the greens we played on this course!). There was a chilly, biting wind blowing and we were still damp from Norseman!!

Hole 7 (Skylab): Par 3 Sheena 4 (3 putt!). Peter 5
This hole is at Balladonia Roadhouse where parts of the Skylab came to earth! A long par 3 with only a target to shoot at. Tall trees had to be carried! Sheena hit a great shot onto the green (and then 3 putted!) It was raining and very muddy!

Hole 8 (90 Mile Straight): Par 4. Sheena 8. Peter 6
This hole is at Caiguna Roadhouse. The name of the hole is self explanatory. The rain had stopped! Sheena found the trees and struggled around the green.

Hole 9 (Eagles Nest): Par 4. Sheena and Peter 5
This hole is at Cocklebiddy Roadhouse. We could see a clearly defined fairway? Peter hit a great shot off the tee while Sheena’s second shot was her good one. This synthetic green had a step in it!

Hole 10 (Brumby’s Run): Par 3. Sheena 4 Peter 3
This hole is at Madura Roadhouse. Peter hit a lovely shot onto the green!

Hole 11 (Watering Hole): Par 4 dogleg left. Sheena and Peter 5
This hole is at Mundrabilla Roadhouse. Both of us hit well off the tee to set up our shots in. Again, chipping on was difficult.

Hole 12 (Nullarbor Nymph): Par 4. Sheena 4. Peter 5
This hole is at Eucla GC. After a 10 minute drive along a dirt road we got to the golf hole. Straight forward par 4.

Hole 13 (Border Kangaroo): Par 3. Sheena and Peter 4
This hole is at Border Village Roadhouse. We teed off next to the Big Roo!! It is a tight par 4. Both of us were pin high off the green.

Hole 14 (Dingo’s Den): Par 5. Sheena 9 Peter 7
A long hole at the Nullarbor Roadhouse. We played it into the wind. Sheena struggled around the green. Peter hassled me to play as soon as we arrived as a storm was coming. We made it before the spectacular storm hit!

Hole 15 (Wombat Hole): Par 5. Sheena 8 Peter 7
This hole is at Nundroo Roadhouse. The signage is very poor and we ended up having to back the van out of a tight track back to the highway. We found an entrance further on. This is the poorest of the holes we have played. It had a blind shot and lots of rocks on the cleared ground that was ‘fairway’! Ricochets off the rocks could not been seen! Balls could be lost from a good hit!

Hole 16 (Windmills): Par 4. Sheena 4 Peter 5
This hole was the first at Penong GC. Quite a nice little par 4. Lots of flies!!!

The last 2 holes are at Ceduna. Both are sand greens. Ceduna is quite a nice little course with some grass on their fairways and quite a bit in front of the greens.
Hole 17 (Denial Bay): Par 4. Sheena and Peter 5

Hole 18 (Oyster Beds): Par 5. Sheena 6. Peter 5

Final result: Sheena 97. Peter 93. Peter won the match 2/1.

We learned a lot while playing the course. It was great that the names of the holes were very relevant to the place they were in!

We have been competing on the golf course since we started our trip. The state of play after the Nullarbor Links Course is Sheena 20 Peter 19!!!!!
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Kalgoorlie to Ceduna (The Nullarbor!)

Days 316 to 324.

We had a look around Kalgoorlie and Boulder (or Kalgoorlie-Boulder as the city is named) when we arrived. Both main streets are chockablock with 1800s architecture and there are many well restored buildings.

The KCGM Super Pit- a very apt name – is visible from everywhere in town. It is the largest open cut gold mine in Australia.

The visit to Kalgoorlie would not have been complete without a visit to the Metropole Hotel which has a mine shaft in the main bar!

The 3 remaining brothels in town were seen when we did a drive down Hay Street – the local red light district. This street used to be door to door brothels during the early years of the town.

Museum Entry (Ivanhoe Headframe)

British Arms Hotel (Narrowest pub in Aus)

The Museum showcased the history of gold in the region and the millions of dollars of gold in the vault was on show!

We began the Nullarbor Links Golf Course here. We played 2 holes at Kalgoorlie Golf Course.

The course is so good we went back and played the full 18 holes. Fantastic!!

Fraser Range Station was the first stop on our journey across the Nullarbor. Here we saw the stone buildings originally constructed by convict and Aboriginal labour.

Australia’s longest straight road (145 km) is on the Nullarbor. Very easy driving as you could see for miles!! No problems with overtaking or being overtaken .

Cocklebiddy Roadhouse was just one of the numerous places to stop for fuel on this trip.

A fantastic view of the Roe Plains occurs at Mandura Pass (about half way across). We free camped just near here. The word ‘Nullarbor’ means tree-less plains!


We had an overnight stop at the Nullarbor Roadhouse. A spectacular storm occurred whilst we were there!

Along the way went in to each lookout over the Bight. There was spectacular scenery at each one with each lookout showing a different view. The Bunda Cliffs which stretch for over 200km were visible from many of them.

Bunda Cliffs looking east

Bunda Cliffs at Head of the Bight

Near the end of the Nullarbor we stopped in at ‘Head of the Bight’. As it was past whale watching season there were none around however, there was spectacular scenery again!
Ceduna is the end of this part of our journey. It was quite hot but we stayed a few days to regroup after the Nullarbor trip. Ceduna has a busy port.

We went for a drive to Denial Bay where there are lots of oyster leases. There was not a lot to do at Ceduna.

Albany to Esperance

Days 304 to 315.

Bremer Bay was a must do after Albany. We had been told by a WA family we met that it was their favourite place to go. I understand why. It is quiet but with lots of beaches nearby.

We enjoyed fishing in the boat harbor and on the bay. We both caught fish!

Whales surprised us in the boat harbour! A mum and baby came right up to where we were fishing!!! Wonderful!

We did the requisite sightseeing. Native Dog Beach and Blossoms Beach were standouts.

The local museum was fascinating. It had lots of vintage cars and motor bikes, as well as pioneer equipment.

Ravensthorpe was our next stop. We used this as a base to visit Wave Rock (a 400km round trip!)


It was worth it – a fantastic natural formation. Hippo’s Yawn another.

Esperance was our next base to experience the delights of the southern coastline.

We have a great view of the ocean from our site! We saw a seal and a pod of dolphins on a walk into the township from the park.

The Great Ocean Drive is one of Australia’s most spectacular scenic drives. It goes past beautiful beaches and showcases the magnificence of the area.

Cape Le Grande National Park has some of the most pristine beaches we have seen on our travels. Beautiful!

We were able to indulge in a game of golf at Esperance Golf Course. The golf holes meander around numerous lakes so water in play on most holes.


Sheena won the match 3/2.

TREES AND CLIFFS. Margaret River to Albany

Days 294 to 300

Our first stop after Margaret River was Pemberton.


Here we did the local tram tour through towering Karri and Marri forests. We stopped off to view the Cascades.

We also did the Karri Forest Explorer Drive.

We passed Big Brook Dam which is the water supply for Pemberton. The drive would not be complete without the requisite winery! Silkwood Winery was our choice and here we had a tasting platter complete with smoked trout from the local area. Very nice but not something I would choose to have again – bones!

Beedelup Falls was a highlight of this drive.
It drops for over 100m over a series of steep granite rocks.

We followed the Warren River
along the fire trail and viewed the Bicentennial Tree (one of three trees that can be climbed by the public).
Sheena had memories of climbing the Gloucester Tree in the 70s but chickened out on the climb this time!

We did the drive to the coast to Windy Harbour. It is an old fishing village complete with no real roads and holiday cottages. We got lost!

In the nearby National Park we did a coastal scenery drive – with lots of spectacular cliffs!

We moved on from Pemberton to The Valley Of The Giants near Walpole. We did the Tree Top Walk in the Valley of the Giants just outside Nornalup. The walk trail is suspended 38 metres above the forest floor! You can really appreciate the size of these towering trees!

We moved on and visited Elephant Rocks near Denmark.

They are huge granite boulders resting in the water that are very aptly named! The coast around this area is beautiful!

Albany was our next stop and we stayed a week. we made use of the time doing maintenance on the van – Peter was clever! Water pressure fixed, Aussie Traveller fixed!

Albany has a lot to do. We visited The Natural Bridge,

The Gap, The Blowhole (not blowing!) all in Torndirrup National Park just outside town. This area is the remains of an ancient mountain range.

We also visited a distillery (served a quite nice whiskey liqueur) and a couple of wineries (with wine purchased of course!).

Albany is situated at the base of two hills, both of which offer fantastic views.


One is the location of a major museum display which showcases the fortress that was built on the site and opened in 1893 to guard King George Sound.

Albany is home to Whale World which is on the site of Australia’s last whaling station.

Whaler

We were taken through the journey of Australian whaling and memories resurfaced of the Anti Whaling protests of the 70s!! The 3D animated whale movie was a highlight, as was the Giants of the Sea skeletal exhibit.




Did I mention the beautiful coastline that is found in this area of West Australia?

From Perth to Margaret River!

Days 281 to 293.

Our first stop after Perth was Mandurah. The main reason for this stop was The Cut golf course!! What a great course – even though Peter again complained about the occasional unsighted shots we had to play we both agreed it was one of the best courses we have played (even though we lost our way during the game – we ended up playing the 18th twice!

Mandurah’s marina precinct is something else. It has been very well designed and is dotted with cafes, restaurants and boardwalks.

We used Mandurah as a base to see the surrounding area. Harvey is the centre of an agricultural region. We did some historical stuff, did the obligatory Harvey Cheese tasting (yum), and visited the first of many wineries.

Did I mention the chocolate factory we visited in Mandurah?

Just down the road we went to see the thromolites (a close cousin of the stromatolites we saw at Hamelin Bay).

The Serpentine Falls National Park is another spot we visited!

Busselton was our next stop. Lots to do here as it was the beginning of the Margaret River wine region.

Our visit was made up of lots of wine tasting, some olive tastings, a lighthouse tour, caves and whale watching!!!

A typical day involved cheese, yoghurt, wine, nougat, chocolate AND chocolate liqueur!!(yum!).

A highlight was the Busselton Jetty.
(We travelled by train along the 1.8km wooden pier to an underwater observatory at the end! and…. we did this with Roger and Sue Macgibbon from Port Macquarie who we ‘bumped into’ as we were about to purchase our tickets!!! Talk about a small world.

The beginning of Sheena’s tree fascination began here with our attempt to find the Tuart trees. The world’s only tall Tuarts (a eucalyptus) grow in this area. They can grow to 40m tall!

We played golf at Dunsborough Lakes Golf Course. It had some great holes including the 18th! It jumps up on you. There is a water carry off the tee, then…… another unseen water carry into the green. It is rated index 1 and was definitely the hardest hole on the course!

The caves in the area were great to visit! The Yallingup Cave was spectacular and the Lakes Cave with its 300+ steps and the reflections in its underground lake was amazing! We had a tour of 2!!! Very personalized.

We stayed a couple of nights at Margaret River and did a drive to the coast. We saw great beaches but NO waves in site.
A special winery visit was the Windance winery. It is owned by Drew who we played golf with. It had great wines and of course $ were spent.

We visited Margaret River Venison and indulged -our freezer became quite full!

We drove to Cape Leeuwen Lighthouse. It is the SW most point in Australia.

The Indian and Southern Oceans meet here.

Perth and Peter’s 60th

Days 255 to 280

Perth is a great city – very easy to get around. We stayed at a caravan park that had a bus stop outside – so……. onto the bus, 10 minutes to a train station, then we were in the city. Once there there are free buses that get you most places you would want to go.

A highlight of the city was Kings Park.

Tree top walk Kings Park

A wildflower spectacular was on when we were there.
All the wildflowers we had seen while on our trip were there plus many more! The park is also home to the WA Botanic Gardens which includes a treetop walk and spectacular views of Perth. <a A great afternoon!

The Perth coastline is amazing – with a scenic drive along the beachfront. Hillarys Boat Harbour is the home of the Aquarium of WA, Australia’s largest aquarium and underwater tunnel. A great place to visit! We also had our first experience of a Sushi Train Restaurant there. Something we will definitely be doing again.

Perth is centred around the Swan River and a visit is not complete with a River cruise. We combined it with wine tasting by doing the Swan Valley Wine Cruise!! This included visits to lots of wineries, beer tasting, cheeses AND chocolate!!!

We Began celebrating Peter’s 60th early with a lunch at Fremantle with Toni and Tony – at The Mussel Bar on the water!!!! The day was perfect! Fremantle on a sunny weekend is one of the places to be in the Perth area.

The birthday continued with Will flying in from Sydney. We had 3 nights in an apartment overlooking Scarborough Beach. Great location, great views!
A highlight was a V8 drive at Barbagello Raceway!!!! Peter and William both drove a race car (with a race driver in the passenger seat coaching them!). Sheena did 3 laps around the circuit as a passenger – hair raising! An experience we all want to do again.

Beer tasting was on our agenda as well – we visited the James Squire Brewery in Perth and the Little Creatures Brewery at Fremantle Harbour. At Little Creatures Sheena loved all of them! Most unusual?!

Will gave Sheena a bunker lesson at Burswood Golf Course. Hopefully it means the bunker play will improve – Good shots were being hit during the lesson. Will also helped Pete out with his driver swing. We are very proud of our young man – if he decides to be a teaching pro he will be an excellent one.

Perth is a golfer’s paradise – everywhere you go there is another immaculate looking course! Burswood is on the Swan River with dramatic views of the city skyline.

We played Sun City, Joondalup and Araluen. All are fantastic courses and are very different from each other.
Sun City is north of Perth and the course borders a national park and undulates its way through fantastic country side which abounds with native flora and fauna.

Sun City Fauna

The design demands a lot from the golfer with many long par 4’s, heavily undulating fairways, long and blind tee shots, big elevation, changes, double dog legs and slick greens. We were lucky enough to play in a competition there with a couple of members so got good directions as to where to hit off each tee.

We played at Joondalup GC with Will. What a great course!!! We all agreed it is spectacular and sublimely manicured. Built on a hilly site, part of which was a disused limestone quarry, the course is routed past and over rocky ravines, bordered by lush bushland and affording frequent sweeping vistas of the surrounding countryside and suburbs. The signature hole is called “The Moon Crater” and the photo shows why. Every hole was impressive with another challenge thrown at the golfer playing!
Araluen is a challenging 18 holes east of Perth in the hills bordered by state forest and the Canning River. It features large undulating greens, testing changes of elevation and strategically placed water hazards and bunkers. Sheena loved the course but Peter was not impressed with the large number of blind shots we had to play. It is a course that you need to play more than once!

We had our van serviced in Perth and the roof checked. A little resealing got done and guess what! On our last day in Perth we had rain and wind and NO LEAK!!!

Horrocks to The Pinnacles

Days 245 to 254 The WA coastline from Kalbarri to Cervantes

Our first stop after Kalbarri was Horrocks Beach. There was great scenery on the drive – agricultural country once we left the national park. There was also lots of sand hills and rolling hills.

Horrocks is a small community – with not much to do there! But…. the view as we came down the hill towards the township was spectacular!

Horrocks Golf Course

View from 8th Tee

While at Horrocks we tried fishing – no luck as usual! We also played the 9 hole sand greens course (as there wasn’t anything else to do! – it had some nice holes so we enjoyed the walk.

Horrocks is not a place we would visit again despite the fantastic views as you approach the town.

Our next stop was Geraldton. It is not a town that stands out on our trip but is larger than most places so far in WA. The coastal scenery in the town was lovely but there was a bit too much weed around at the time we visited.


One highlight was our visit to the HMAS Sydney Memorial. It is spectacular – a fitting tribute to the lost sailors.

East of Geraldton

We did a drive to the local winery with Lois and Eric one day – only to find that the winery had shut down a month ago!! We went to the lavender farm instead and had a great afternoon!

Lavender Farm

Lavender

We played golf at Geraldton GC on father’s day. We were welcomed in the Sunday comp – Pete was the only guy (the men play Saturdays and don’t venture out again on a Sunday!). Very fittingly Peter won the match 2/1! Geraldton was a nice course to play.

Wildflowers on golf course!!!!!

Dongera was our next stop just a little south of Geraldton. On the road from Geraldton south we stopped and marveled the leaning trees! The trunks are horizontal due to the prevailing southerly winds.

Sheena did the coastal walk at Dongera! It was beautiful! We did some sightseeing around town – Dongera and Port Denison exist on either side of the Irwin River and the scenic drive around both areas was lovely. That evening we had a huge storm with lots of strong winds and ……. the van leaked!!!

It cleared up a little the next day and we moved on to Jurien Bay travelling along Indian Ocean Drive.

Jurien Bay is a small fishing town (the weather was lousy so no fishing attempted!).

Jurien Bay was our base to visit the Lesueur National Park, Cervantes and The Pinnacles.

Lesueur NP is a wildflower lover’s paradise! There is an 18.5 km one-way bitumen road that takes you through the park with stopping bays and walking trails along the way. Yet another area that was well worth the visit. Wildflowers were abundant – as were grass trees (they are everywhere in this region – amazing!).

At Cervantes we enjoyed more spectacular ocean views and had a great meal at The Lobster Shack
– another ‘must do’ experience.

The Pinnacles are thousands of limestone pillars rising out of the dune sands in Nambung NP. Some of the structures rise to 5m tall! They make for an amazing site and again it has been made very easy for visitors to view the scenery.

Our next stop was Perth. Wildflowers, sand hills and ocean views abounded on our trip south! What a great drive!

Kalbarri

Days 230 to 244 Kalbarri

What a great location in WA! The town is surrounded by Kalbarri National Park and sits at the mouth of the Murchison River.

The gorges of the river provide some of the spectacular scenery in the national park and we tried to see it all! The highlight of the inland section of the park was Nature’s Window. It is a natural rock arch which frames the upstream view of the river.

The coastal cliffs are part of the national park and extend 13 km along the coastline. The views are spectacular and the area has been well planned to enable visitors to see it all as they travel along the ‘Cliff View’ Drive. And as an added extra we were there in wildflower season.

Our visit to Kalbarri also included the mandatory fishing! We tried everywhere, with the river mouth the best location. It also enabled us to watch the boats traverse the bar.

Kalbarri Golf Course is a nice track (mainly volunteer labour) and we enjoyed 4 lots of nine holes with Sheena coming out the victor 3 to 1.

Rainbow Jungle is a parrot breeding centre located in Kalbarri. What a great place to visit. The indoor section was very large and we had birds flying around us!

Jakes Point is a well known WA surfing spot and we spent some time watching surfers and body boarders ride the waves.

We got the kayaks out and kayaked on the river.

We did a Canoe Safari – 10 km down the Murchison River. We saw great landscape as we went along. We ended the day with very sore shoulders! Sheena kept making the canoe zig zag Peter reckons! But we made it!

One of the interesting things about Kalbarri is the tides. Some days there are only 2 changes! (Not like the regular 6 and a bit hour changes we are used to). Very confusing for the fishing!
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Kalbarri. It was well worth the 2 week visit.

Carnarvon and Denham

Days 217 to 228

We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn while driving from Coral Bay to Carnarvon, which gave us an idea of where we were in Australia relative to the towns in Qld we were familiar with.

It rained on our first night in Carnarvon!!! It was the first we had had in over 3 months! And there were no leaks – so hopefully the van is all fixed!

Our TV aerial got damaged as we passed a road train and a large wind gust happened at the same time near Tom Price! It got progressively worse the further we drove! Carnarvon was the first town where we had a chance of getting it fixed. Needless to say we waited for the aerial guy most of the first afternoon – he came at 10 past 5 and took a photo! He said he was 99% sure he had a replacement and then he left with no indication as to when he would return!!!!
We waited around for the aerial guy the next day and he didn’t come! Gunny eventually got sick of waiting for the aerial guy so out came our extension ladder! After a trip by Sheena to the hardware store and some ingenuity by Peter the aerial was taken down, straightened, taped up, and then put back up!!! And we still had reception to watch the Olympics!! What a great guy Peter is!!! And guess what – on our last day in Carnarvon the aerial guy returned and replaced Peter’s handiwork. Peter’s repair job was a short-lived but very effective one!

Coffee Pot tram

At Carnarvon we walked along the jetty – it is 1493m long and was constructed in 1904. The "Coffee Pot" tram that travels along the jetty is a tourist attraction!

We also visited the OTC dish which was once used by NASA as a space communication and tracking station.

OTC Dish

We had banana and mango pancakes at a local plantation on the Gascoyne River.

Gascoyne River (unusual to see water!)

Did you know that this river is usually a 300km tongue of sand which rarely flows but acts as a massive storage system extending underground!

The nights are getting quite cool but days are clear and warmish.

We also went fishing (as you do) while at Carnarvon. We tried a few spots – the best being one of the mouths of the Gascoyne River (there are 2). Sheena outclassed Peter on that day. We also tried Oyster Creek – not even a bite! We then went to Pelican Point. Again no bites – so decided to go to the end of the jetty. What a great time we had! Peter won the fishing comp but we both kept catching fish! Fabulous!

We did a little of the Gascoyne Food Trail – mangoes, lots of sauces, relishes and chutneys made with local produce, eggs and various oils! We tried hard to not go overboard with the purchases.

A visit to Carnarvon is not complete without a drive to Quobba – famous for a blowhole.
What a fabulous sight! And more whales!!! What could be better?

Chinaman’s Pool

Sheena went and had a look at Chinaman’s Pool – lots of water and it was obvious why it used to supply water to the town given the river is an upside down one!

Our next stop was Hamelin Pool in the Shark Bay Heritage Area. Wildflowers lined the roadway as we neared the turnoff to Shark Bay. Yellow and purple predominated with a carpet of colour often seen on the side of the road! Yet another highlight on our fantastic journey!

As we approached the turnoff to Shark Bay the skies opened. Rain! Twice in a week!

Hamelin Pool is a little off the main road and the rain cleared as we arrived! We were able to do the walk past the shell quarry (more about the shells later!) and down to view the stromatolites. Fascinating! Shark Bay is one of only two places in the world where living marine stromatolites exist. They provide oxygen for our atmosphere.

Sheena did a night tour of the Telegraph Station. It is ironic that a place that played such a part in the history of Australian communication now has no mobile signal available!

We then travelled 50km drive up the road to Nanga Beach for another one night stay before Denham.

What a beautiful area – this is all part of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.

We did some sightseeing (this is what our trip is all about!). We went to Shell Beach. It is 150 km of tiny shells!!! The shells, known as the Hamelin Cockle, are all from one type of animal which lives in prolific numbers in the area because of the super salty water. The discarded shells are in some areas up to 10m thick. These are the shells that are quarried at Hamelin Pool to restore some heritage buildings in the area that have been built of shell bricks!

Fantastic!!!!!

We then moved on to the boardwalk at Eagle Bluff where we could clearly see rays, sharks and fish swimming around. Another must visit place!!! The day was clear and we could see the salt piles across the bay at Useless Loop (what a name!). Can you see the salt piles in the photo?

Then we moved on to Denham – another short drive. We stopped off at the Ocean Park Aquarium on the way – a great place for a coffee and/or breakfast right on the shore of Shark Bay. We did a tour of the aquarium that was very informative – we learned all about the marine creatures of the Shark Bay region. Peter was wishing for a fishing rod by the end of the tour as we viewed many large specimens of local fish.

At Denham on a day with blue skies overhead we did a Quad Bike Tour. What a great experience! It was fantastic with some hairy offroading stuff as well as fantastic scenery. We saw lots of the sharks that have given the bay its name, and we trekked around Little Lagoon which is almost perfectly circular in shape.

We completed the sightseeing at Denham by going to the Peron Heritage Precinct in the Francois Peron National Park which provided an insight into how life was when the park was a working sheep station – it was set up so we experienced what that life was like. Interesting!
From Denham you can see Dirk Hartog Island (no explanation required for those who learned Aus history in Primary School)!

We also fished while here (of course!) and Peter caught a flathead!